Tuesday, January 31, 2012

CSN: Salad days are over for O's Wieters

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It?s a different Matt Wieters these days. When the most ballyhooed young catcher in Orioles history came to town nearly three years ago, he seemed sweet and innocent.

Wieters? salad days are over.

As Wieters begins to start his fourth season?his third complete one?as the Orioles? catcher, he draws respect from his teammates and around baseball.

Drafted fifth among all players in 2007, Wieters rocketed through the minors, and by late May 2009, he was the catcher.

Andy MacPhail took over as team president shortly after he was drafted in June 2007, and was given the authority to sign Wieters. His agent, Scott Boras, had a rocky relationship with the Orioles, and MacPhail overcame that?signing him to a deadline deal worth $6 million.

Wieters didn?t make his professional debut until the next spring, and what a debut it was. In 130 games at Frederick and Bowie, he hit .355 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs and played outstanding defensively.

In spring training, he looked overmatched at the plate, but once he went to Frederick, Wieters felt comfortable. Even though his statistics warranted a September callup, MacPhail resisted?and started him at Norfolk the next year.

The Orioles didn?t bring him up until May 29. He was batting .305 with 5 home runs and 30 RBIs, and performing well behind the plate.

MacPhail didn?t want to rush Wieters, and by waiting until late May, he did his successors a huge favor?keeping him under team control for another year?until 2016. Wieters can play nearly seven seasons with the Orioles until he?s eligible for free agency.

If he continues to play as well as he did last season, Wieters will be a most valuable commodity and an impossible one to replace for the Orioles.

He caught 132 games, making the All-Star team and winning a Gold Glove?both for the first time. Wieters threw out 37 percent of the runners who attempted to steal, and it?s likely fewer will try to run on him this year.

Wieters batted .262 with 22 home runs and 68 RBIs?both marked improvements from his first complete season in 2010.

Manager Buck Showalter hopes the acquisition of Taylor Teagarden will allow him to rest Wieters more often?or at least let him DH a little more. In 2011, he was the DH only three times.

Last year, Showalter raved about his catching ability, and when he appeared at FanFest, Wieters didn?t talk about his improving offense, but about his pitchers.

?You win with pitching. It?s tough to outhit the Yankees and outhit the Red Sox. You look at Tampa and they have five starting pitchers, and that?s how they can compete every year,? he said.

?I think the young starters we have?we?re going to give them competition?and make them even better.?

Wieters is still only 25, and about the same age as some of those ?young starters,? some of whom came up through the minors with him.

He just seems much more mature.

?It?s going to be a lot of work in spring training, getting to know the guys that have a chance to make the club or be there at some point? during the year,? Wieters said. ?It?s going to be a lot of work, a lot of communication work on top of that.?

He had no trouble communicating with Koji Uehara and doesn?t think there will be an issue with another Japanese pitcher, Tsuyoshi Wada, and a Taiwanese pitcher, Wei-Yin Chen.

?The great thing is that baseball is a universal language, so you can sort of get on the same page. I was spoiled with Koji. He was one of the easiest guys to work with ? we?ll find a way to make it work,? Wieters said.

?You see what their pattern is ? what pitches they like to throw in certain counts ? especially with a guy you don?t speak the same language as. You want to know what he?s going to throw on the mound.?

Wieters won?t be eligible for arbitration until next year, and if the Orioles sign Adam Jones to a long-term contract, perhaps they?ll start thinking about Wieters.

Boras clients generally don?t leave money on the table. If Wieters continues to improve, he?ll be able to name his own price.

Joe Mauer,? not a Boras client,? re-signed with Minnesota for eight years and $184 million. He won the three previous Gold Gloves and was the American League MVP in 2009 when he batted .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs. Injuries limited Mauer to 82 games in the first year of his contract.

Boras will use Mauer?s contract as a gauge when the time comes to speak productively with the Orioles. Thanks to MacPhail?s foresight, that day is still at least two years away.

Source: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/baseball-baltimore-orioles/news/No-waiting-for-Wieters?blockID=641236&feedID=6876

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China says 29 abducted in Sudan still being held (AP)

BEIJING ? None of the 29 Chinese workers abducted after an attack in a volatile region of Sudan have been freed, Chinese state media said Tuesday, dismissing reports that some of the workers had been released.

The workers were abducted Saturday by militants in a remote region in the country's south. Sudanese state media reported Monday that 14 of them had been freed, but the official Xinhua News Agency and China Daily newspaper said all 29 were still being held.

China has close political and economic relations with Sudan, especially in the energy sector.

The Chinese ambassador to Sudan, Luo Xiaoguang, told China Central Television in an interview in Khartoum that anti-government rebels attacked the road project the Chinese were working on.

"There are still Chinese workers missing. Some others are still being held by the anti-government armed forces," Luo said.

Xinhua said 47 Chinese workers were caught in the attack in the South Kordofan region of Sudan. It said 29 were captured and the other 18 fled, and that one of those who fled remains missing.

The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that a working group had been sent to Sudan to assist in the rescue work.

"China calls upon relevant parties to maintain calm and exercise restraint, to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, and from a humanitarian point of view, to the release of Chinese personnel as soon as possible," the statement said.

A statement from the workers' company, Sinohydro Corp., said that it and the Chinese Embassy would "spare no effort in ensuring the personal safety of those abducted and rescuing them."

On Monday, Sudan's state-run SUNA news agency quoted South Kordofan provincial governor Ahmed Haroun as saying that 14 workers had been released.

SUNA said the attack took place near Abbasiya town, 390 miles (630 kilometers) south of Khartoum.

Sudanese officials have blamed the attack on the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, a branch of a guerrilla movement that has fought various regimes in Khartoum for decades. Its members hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.

Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan says the accusations are a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.

China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan. Last year it was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.

China has used its diplomatic clout to defend Sudan and its longtime leader, Omar al-Bashir. Recently, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south.

South Sudan and Sudan are in bitter dispute over oil, which is produced primarily in South Sudan but runs through Sudanese pipelines for export.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_sudan

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Yemeni president arrives in US for treatment

The embattled president of Yemen arrived in the United States on Saturday for medical treatment, Yemen's foreign press office said.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived at an unspecified location in the U.S., after a journey that took him from Oman through London.

His staff has said he is in the United States to be treated for injuries suffered during an assassination attempt in June.

Saleh's travel plans in the United States have not been disclosed for security reasons.

After months of unrest, Saleh agreed in November to relinquish power.

The U.S. and its allies have pressured Saleh to leave Yemen permanently, but it is unclear how long he will remain in the U.S.

In a speech before he left for Oman, he promised to return home before Feb. 21 presidential elections.

Washington has been trying to get Saleh to leave his homeland, but it does not want him to settle permanently in the United States, fearing it would be seen as harboring a leader considered by his people to have blood on his hands.

Saleh was traveling on a chartered Emirates plane with a private doctor, translator, eight armed guards and several family members, an official in the Yemeni president's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In November, Saleh handed over his powers to his vice president and promised to step down completely after months of protests by millions across the country demanding an end to his nearly 33-year rule. A national unity government was formed between his ruling party and the opposition.

But opponents say he has continued to interfere in the work of a unity government through his allies and relatives in key posts ? particularly his son and nephew, who command the country's most elite and powerful military units. As a result, the past two months have seen persistent violence, power struggles and delays in reforms.

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Saleh agreed to step down in return for a sweeping immunity from prosecution on any crimes committed during his rule, a measure that has angered many in Yemen who want him tried for the deaths of protesters in his crackdown on the uprising against him. Protests have continued demanding his prosecution and the removal of his relatives and allies from authority.

Even since the protests against his rule began a year ago, Saleh has proved a master in eluding pressure to keep his grip, though over the months his options steadily closed around him. He slipped out of signing the accord for the power handover three times over the months before finally agreeing to it.

He was badly burned in a June explosion in his compound in Sanaa. He received medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia for three months. American officials had hoped he would remain there, but the Yemeni leader returned home and violence worsened anew.

His maneuvering and the turmoil on the ground left the United States struggling to find a stable transition in the country to ensure a continued fight against al-Qaida militants based in the country, who make up the most active branch of the terror network in the world. Saleh was a close ally of Washington in the fight, taking millions in counterterrorism aid.

During the past year of turmoil, al-Qaida-linked militants outright took control of several cities and towns in the south, including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province.

On Friday, government forces battled with the militants near the town of Jaar, which they also control. At least five people were killed in the fighting, Yemeni security officials said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46174269/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Woman gets life sentence in Md. yoga shop murder (AP)

ROCKVILLE, Md. ? A woman convicted of killing her co-worker at an upscale yoga clothing shop in the Washington suburbs, then spinning an elaborate lie about being attacked by two masked men, was ordered Friday to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Brittany Norwood choked back tears as she apologized to her family and that of her victim in her first public statements since her arrest in March. A jury in November convicted Norwood of first-degree murder for bludgeoning and stabbing 30-year-old Jayna Murray, a co-worker at the Lululemon Athletica shop in Bethesda. Murray had more than 330 distinct wounds.

The judge was unmoved by Norwood's tears, telling the 29-year-old that her crime "exemplified the worst of human nature." He stoutly rejected defense pleas that she was capable of rehabilitation and deserved an eventual shot at freedom.

"You mutilated this woman. And with every blow, you had a chance to think about what you were doing," said Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg in imposing a sentence of life without the possibility parole.

The violent nature of the crime, and the initial accounts by Norwood of two murderers and rapists on the run, rattled the community.

Prosecutors said Norwood attacked Murray with at least five weapons, including a knife and a hammer, during a fight March 11 after they closed the shop for the day. They said Norwood lured Murray back to the store by falsely claiming that she has forgotten something inside and needed to be let back in. Norwood savagely beat Murray for at least 20 minutes and then doctored the scene overnight to support her story that intruders had attacked and sexually assaulted them.

Murray was found the next morning in a pool of blood at the back of the store. Her wounds included a knife strike to the head that served as the death blow. Norwood was found nearby, moaning in apparent pain and tied up, with superficial ? and self-imposed ? wounds on her body. Blood was found tracked throughout the store, something police later determined was part of Norwood's attempt to throw them off her trail

The jury didn't hear a motive for the killing, but prosecutor John McCarthy said Murray had confronted Norwood after finding a pair of stolen pants while checking her bag. Norwood feared the discovery would cause her to be fired and derail her planned career as a personal trainer.

"It was more than a pair of pants," McCarthy said. "It was the unraveling of a life that she had set for herself."

Norwood, wiping away tears and speaking softly as a row of family members sobbed, briefly apologized, saying "My hope for your family is that someday you'll be able to find forgiveness in your heart."

Norwood's account of the attack set off panic in Bethesda, an affluent suburb where violent crime is rare. Montgomery County police went on a manhunt and fielded hundreds of tips. Some residents and shoppers who frequented the bustling corridor of high-end shops and trendy restaurants where Lululemon is situated admitted to feeling anxious at night.

"Businesses operated differently," McCarthy said.

Norwood stared to the ground as eight of Murray's friends and family detailed how their once joyful lives have become overcome with nightmares, anxiety, depression and feelings of emptiness. Her father, David Murray, showed the courtroom a series of photographs ? his daughter as a smiling young girl, shooting a bow and arrow, bungee jumping, posing alongside a trophy and in her cap and gown. He said they illustrated his daughter's zest for life and talents as a student, swimmer, dancer and gymnast.

"March 11, 2011 was our family's Sept. 11, 2001," Murray's brother, Hugh, told the judge. "Nothing will ever return to normal. Nothing will ever be the same."

Murray's other brother, Dirk, said his two young sons adored their aunt but were starting to ask difficult questions about her death. When they go to bed at night, he said, the family doesn't check the closets for an anonymous bogeyman. "We check for Brittany Norwood," he said.

The family described how their initial empathy for Murray's surviving co-worker turned ? her father said he even contemplated sending Norwood flowers at the hospital ? transformed into horror and rage when they learned that Norwood was the attacker, not the victim.

"Of the many stages of grief, I have not moved away from rage," David Murray said.

Norwood's tale unraveled within days as police identified her as their sole suspect. Workers at an adjacent Apple store told police that they heard two women ? though they were castigated by the judge Friday for failing to call for help. Investigators found only two sets of footprints in the store. An examination did not back up Norwood's claim of being sexually assaulted. And Norwood's DNA was found inside Murray's car, which Norwood had driven away from the store as part of her ruse.

She was arrested a week after the murder.

Norwood's lawyers conceded at the outset of the trial that Norwood had killed Murray, but said she had simply "lost it" in a moment of irrationality and didn't have the required forethought to be convicted of first-degree murder. A jury rejected that argument after about an hour of deliberation.

Her attorney, Doug Wood, urged a judge to grant her the possibility of parole, though he acknowledged that there was a minimal chance of her ever being granted it. Giving her and her family at least a glimmer of hope is part of the community's collective healing, Wood argued.

A sentence of life without parole, he argued, "forecloses hope. It forecloses redemption. It forecloses forgiveness. It allows anger, hatred and fear to win out."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/us_yoga_shop_killing

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

George Clooney Plans to End Brad Pitt's Career with a Prank

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are world famous -- not just for their acting talent, blockbuster appeal and good looks, but for their penchant for executing elaborate (and hilarious!) pranks on their costars and friends. But as Clooney tells it, Pitt should be afraid -- very, very afraid.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/george-clooney-plans-end-brad-pitts-career-prank/1-a-422647?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ageorge-clooney-plans-end-brad-pitts-career-prank-422647

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Welcome customers into your business on Google - Google Small ...

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog.)

When we initially announced the Business Photos pilot program, we wanted to give business owners an easy way to get customers in the door online using interactive, high-quality, 360-degree images of places on Google Maps and on Google Search results. With thousands of businesses under our belt ? from?salons?to gift shops?? we?ve been hearing the same question again and again from both business owners and photographers alike: How can I participate?

Well, with the overwhelming success of the first pilot, we?ve decided to unveil a complementary initiative that will help us reach more interested business owners, more quickly: Trusted Photographers.Click and drag to view the inside of Spice Market, New York City.It?s simple. Visit our new website and search for a Google Trusted Photographer in your area. Either email or call a photographer in your area to schedule a time and agree on a price that you will pay the photographer for a photoshoot of your business. This self-serve model makes for easier scheduling and quicker turnaround, while also supporting the local photographers in your community. During the hour it should take for the shoot, you can collaborate with the photographer about how best to display and capture your business. When finished, the photographer will upload the images to Google, and shortly thereafter, you?ll see 360-degree panoramic views of your business on Google.com, Google Maps and on your Google Places listing.
See how Business Photos has helped Toy Joy of Austin, Texas.Trusted Photographers are available in 14 U.S. cities, as well as in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France. Don?t see a photographer in your area? Let us know, as that will help us determine where more Trusted Photographers are needed.

Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager, Google Maps

Source: http://googlesmb.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome-customers-into-your-business-on.html

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Finance Open Labs Scheduled ? CMSinfo

January 26th, 2012 by Jenna

Several Finance Open Labs have been scheduled. Open labs are informal sessions where qualified personnel are available to assist department users who have access to the Common Finance System (CFS), which includes the Finance Data Warehouse. We will also assist users who have access to Cognos Reporting and Financial Transaction Services (FTS).

Come to the open lab for help on a number of topics, including:

  • Understanding Procurement policies and guidelines
  • Entering web requisitions and travel reimbursements in FTS
  • Running a PO Life Cycle report in CFS
  • Assistance in reviewing financial activity in a Finance Data Warehouse report
  • Navigating the Procurement/Accounts Payable website
  • Recording receipts and inspections
  • Reviewing PO and requisition information in PeopleSoft

Be sure to bring your login information with you.

Finance User Open Labs
Date Time Location
Fri, Feb 10 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Feb 24 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Mar 9 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Mar 23 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Apr 6 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Apr 20 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, May 4 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, May 18 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Jun 1 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Jun 15 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505
Fri, Jun 29 9:00 am to 11:00 am Clark Hall 505

?

Employees in need of training to access any of the Finance systems (FTS, CFS and Data Warehouse) should contact the CMS Help Desk first for assistance. You can find a list of training courses that are required to access the Finance systems at Training for Employees. Please contact the CMS Help Desk at cmshelp@sjsu.edu or 408-924-1530 if you have any questions.

Source: http://blogs.sjsu.edu/mysjsu/2012/01/26/finance-open-labs-scheduled/

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PGA Tour takes big step toward qualifying change

(AP) ? The PGA Tour is one step closer to eliminating Q-school as a path to earning a tour card, a significant overhaul that would include starting the official season in the fall instead of waiting for the next calendar year.

At the heart of the proposal is making the Nationwide Tour the primary means of getting to the big leagues.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem presented the basics of the plan Tuesday night during a mandatory players meeting at Torrey Pines ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open.

The biggest change involves Q-school. The plan is for the top 75 players from the Nationwide Tour and the top 75 players who failed to keep their PGA Tour cards to play a three-tournament series. Players would be ranked based on how they fared on their respective money lists, and the top 50 after that series would earn cards.

The rest would have the option of going to Q-school, where only Nationwide Tour status would be available.

The proposal was not much different from what The Associated Press first reported in December. There were a few tweaks, and there might be more to come as tour officials get feedback over the next few weeks.

The 16-member Player Advisory Council plans to meet in three weeks at the Northern Trust Open. The earliest the overhaul could be approved by the policy board is in March, though it likely will be later.

Reaction predictably was mixed.

Dustin Johnson, who made it through Q-school on his first try out of college and has won in each of his four years on the PGA Tour, said on Twitter, "Just left the player meeting here in San Diego!!!! I don't like any of the ideas about changing the tour!!! There is NO reason to!!!!!!!!!"

Rod Pampling, who had to rely on low status and sponsor exemptions to regain his card last year, said he needed more information before he could figure out why such a big change was needed.

"I guess they're looking for a new direction, but I'm still on the fence," Pampling said. "I understand both sides. We just need to get more information. We were told how last year was one of the greatest years on tour. So why are we reinventing the wheel? Obviously, it's forward progress. But is this the right way? I don't know."

Geoff Ogilvy also said he liked the way the PGA Tour was now.

"But I quite liked the way the tour was before the FedEx Cup, and I actually like the tour better now with the FedEx Cup," he said. "I thought it was ridiculous having the FedEx Cup, but now it happen, and I'm like, 'This is pretty good.' Every year it's gotten better. So the tour hasn't made that many missteps in the last 20 or 30 years.

"It's probably going to end up the right thing to do."

One according to one manager involved in meetings, the tour said total compensation to PGA Tour players ? including items such as their pension plans ? was $205 million in 2010, which increased to $319 million in 2011. That figure is expected to be $377 million this year.

The manager spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

But such prosperity prompted several players ? including Brandt Snedeker during a Q&A portion of the meeting ? to ask: "If everything is so good, why risk change?"

One reason for change is to make the development tour attractive to a title sponsor ? Nationwide's sponsorship ends after this year.

When the FedEx Cup began, the regular PGA Tour season ended with the Tour Championship in late September. Then, there were as many as six "Fall Series" events, which gave players a chance to earn their cards by being in the top 125 on the money list.

Those fall events have smaller purses, and are not part of the FedEx Cup.

There are indications, however, that at least two title sponsors of the Fall Series might not be willing to renew contracts unless they are part of the FedEx Cup. That would lead the tour to starting the new season in October, and why it would no longer work to have Q-school in December for players to earn their way onto the big tour.

"It looks likes to me they're wanting to have a non-calendar year, which means you've got to change Q-school," Phil Mickelson said. "You always have to have change to have growth."

Finchem has said he not looking to add tournaments in Asia. What he presented to the players was a start of the season that included the Frys.com Open, Las Vegas, the McGladrey Classic, the Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia, the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, with the year (but not the season) ending at Disney.

There also was a tournament "to be announced," which might not be on American soil, but not far away.

One of the arguments against the plan is that it eliminates the long shot that plays six great rounds at Q-school and fulfills a dream by reaching the PGA Tour. Now, such a player would only get to the Nationwide Tour, where he would have a year to prove himself.

Another is that it would hamper a young college player from going straight to the PGA Tour. Johnson and J.B. Holmes are among those who recently have gone from Q-school to winning in one year, while Rickie Fowler went from Q-school to playing in the Ryder Cup.

Among the biggest issues still to sort out is how to seed the 75 PGA Tour players who finish out of the top 125 on the money list with the top 75 from the Nationwide Tour money list.

Currently, the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour automatically get PGA Tour cards.

The original plan was for players to be alternately seeded from each tour ? No. 1 on the Nationwide and No. 126 from the PGA Tour would be jointly seeded No. 1, for example. Feedback over the last month, however, indicated that because the top 25 players from the Nationwide Tour got cards, they should be given preferred status.

Now under discussion is how to seed them. One idea was to take the top 25 seeds off the Nationwide Tour, and then alternate between the two tours. Another was to put the top 15 from the Nationwide Tour atop the rankings for the three-tournament series.

Nationwide Tour earnings would be the used to keep score in the series. No matter how much money a PGA Tour player made, he would be assigned the money equal to his counterpart on the Nationwide Tour.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-25-Tour%20Changes/id-8600c340a81a486b9c5618311c17c21b

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Millions now manage aging parents' care from afar (AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ? Kristy Bryner worries her 80-year-old mom might slip and fall when she picks up the newspaper, or that she'll get in an accident when she drives to the grocery store. What if she has a medical emergency and no one's there to help? What if, like her father, her mother slips into a fog of dementia?

Those questions would be hard enough if Bryner's aging parent lived across town in Portland, Ore., but she is in Kent, Ohio. The stress of caregiving seems magnified by each of the more than 2,000 miles that separate them.

"I feel like I'm being split in half between coasts," said Bryner, 54. "I wish I knew what to do, but I don't."

As lifespans lengthen and the number of seniors rapidly grows, more Americans find themselves in Bryner's perilous position, struggling to care for an ailing loved one from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

The National Institute on Aging estimates around 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers. Aside from economic factors that often drive people far from their hometowns, shifting demographics in the country could exacerbate the issue: Over the next four decades, the share of people 65 and older is expected to rapidly expand while the number of people under 20 will roughly hold steady. That means there will be a far smaller share of people between 20 and 64, the age group that most often is faced with caregiving.

"You just want to be in two places at once," said Kay Branch, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, but helps coordinate care for her parents in Lakeland, Fla., about 3,800 miles away.

There are no easy answers.

Bryner first became a long-distance caregiver when, more than a decade ago, her father began suffering from dementia, which consumed him until he died in 2010. She used to be able to count on help from her brother, who lived close to their parents, but he died of cancer a few years back. Her mother doesn't want to leave the house she's lived in for so long.

So Bryner talks daily with her mother via Skype, a video telephone service. She's lucky to have a job that's flexible enough that she's able to visit for a couple of weeks every few months. But she fears what may happen when her mother is not as healthy as she is now.

"Someone needs to check on her, someone needs to look out for her," she said. "And the only someone is me, and I don't live there."

Many long-distance caregivers say they insist on daily phone calls or video chats to hear or see how their loved one is doing. Oftentimes, they find another relative or a paid caregiver they can trust who is closer and able to help with some tasks.

Yet there always is the unexpected: Medical emergencies, problems with insurance coverage, urgent financial issues. Problems become far tougher to resolve when you need to hop on a plane or make a daylong drive.

"There are lots of things that you have to do that become these real exercises in futility," said Ed Rose, 49, who lives in Boston but, like his sister, travels frequently to Chicago to help care for his 106-year-old grandmother, Blanche Seelmann.

Rose has rushed to his grandmother's side for hospitalizations, and made unexpected trips to solve bureaucratic issues like retrieving a document from a safe-deposit box in order to open a bank account.

But he said he has also managed to get most of the logistics down to a routine.

He uses Skype to speak with his grandmother every day and tries to be there whenever she has a doctor's appointment. Aides handle many daily tasks and have access to a credit card for household expenses. They send him receipts so he can monitor spending. He has an apartment near his grandmother to make sure he's comfortable on his frequent visits.

Even for those who live near those they care for, travel for work can frequently make it a long-distance affair. Evelyn Castillo-Bach lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla., the same town as her 84-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. But she is on the road roughly half the year, sometimes for months at a time, both for work with her own Web company and accompanying her husband, a consultant for the United Nations.

Once, she was en route from Kosovo to Denmark when she received a call alerting her that her mother was having kidney failure and appeared as if she would die. She needed to communicate her mother's wishes from afar as her panicked sister tried to search their mother's home for her living will. Castillo-Bach didn't think she could make it in time to see her mother alive once more.

"I won't get to touch my mother again," she thought.

She was wrong. Her mother pulled through. But she says it illustrates what long-distance caregivers so frequently go through.

"This is one of the things that happens when you're thousands of miles away," Castillo-Bach said.

Lynn Feinberg, a caregiving expert at AARP, said the number of long-distance caregivers is likely to grow, particularly as a sagging economy has people taking whatever job they can get, wherever it is. Though caregiving is a major stress on anyone, distance can often magnify it, Feinberg said, and presents particular difficulty when it must be balanced with an inflexible job.

"It's a huge stress," she said. "It can have enormous implications not only for someone's quality of life, but also for someone's job."

It can also carry a huge financial burden. A November 2007 report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare, a division of United Health Group, found annual expenses incurred by long-distance caregivers averaged about $8,728, far more than caregivers who lived close to their loved one. Some also had to cut back on work hours, take on debt of their own and slash their personal spending.

Even with that in mind, though, many long-distance caregivers say they don't regret their decision. Rita Morrow, who works in accounting and lives in Louisville, Ky., about a six-hour drive from her 90-year-old mother in Memphis, Tenn., does all the juggling too.

She has to remind her mother to take her medicine, make sure rides are lined up for doctor's appointments, rush to her aid if there's a problem. She knows her mom wants to stay in her home, to keep going to the church she's gone to the past 60 years, to be near her friends.

"We do what we have to do for our parents," she said. "My mother did all kinds of things for me."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_he_me/us_aging_america_long_distance_caregiving

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CE-Oh no he didn't!: Tim Cook savoring the iPad's Windows 'cannibalization'

Tim Cook had plenty of reason to celebrate during today's Apple earnings call -- and really, who can blame the guy if a bit of that celebration spilled over into some old school executive gloating? While talking up the company's impressive iPad numbers -- and the inevitable PC-eclipsing nature of the space, Cook let this bomb drop,

There is cannibalization of the Mac by the iPad, but we think there's more cannibalization of Windows PCs by the iPad - we love that trend.

Yep, the iPad may be eating away at the company's computer business like the iPhone did to the iPod before it, but that's fine, since the tablet looks to be eroding Windows PCs even more so.

CE-Oh no he didn't!: Tim Cook savoring the iPad's Windows 'cannibalization' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/ce-oh-no-he-didnt-tim-cook-savoring-the-ipads-windows-canni/

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Blue Skies Are But a Dream - New RP Idea

Someone?s Journal
June 19th, 2453

It is odd. The past few days I have been hearing weird, echoing sounds whenever I am outside. Everyone else has been commenting on them as well. Police don't know what they are, and the military base near here has been sending jets into the sky almost non-stop. The sonic booms from their engines are shaking my house each time they pass overhead. I hate it. But, the sounds are oddly soothing. I wonder what they are?

June 21st, 2453

Its scary. The noises have become non-stop, and they are more eerie now. Deep, whistling sounds echo into the house through the closed windows and shake the glasses in the cupboards. Several plates have already been broken. Mom says that if they continue, we're going to move our stuff into the storm shelter.

July 4th, 2453

Mom's idea of moving into the storm shelter was a good idea. Not a day after we got most of our things settled, a storm hit and ruined our house. We're living off of canned food. The emergency organizations are offering shelter to those who don't have any and are providing food to those in need. Mom has already gathered several trunk loads. She seems to think this won't stop. My Daddy thinks otherwise. He's been sitting back, relaxing and reading his books. He is so cool and calm! He helps us, but I can hear Mom muttering under her breath sometimes about him not doing enough.

July 30th, 2453

She killed him. (-Tear Stains are present across the page. This is the only thing written across two pages.-)

August 7th, 2453

Mom killed Dad when he had his back turned... Buried the axe we were using to cut up trees into his back and then cut off his head. She doesn't know I saw. I am afraid. She has been slowly changing these past few days. Her eyes seem more yellow and her nails are definitely longer than ever before. She snaps at me at the smallest things and the meat we have managed to save isn't fully cooked anymore. My steak was almost all raw. I had to recook it myself over the fire. I burnt it, but it was better than what my mom gave me... I am worried? The Storms have started again and I can feel the ground beneath my feet shaking. Mom says an earthquake is taking place somewhere far away, but I am not too sure?

August 20th, 2453

Mom came home bloody. She was smiling though, dragging in what appeared to be a large black bag that was bleeding. I asked her what was in it but all she told me was that we wouldn't have to worry about anymore meat for a while. She said that the old man down the street went out and shot a few deer. I don't believe her, but I need to eat. We ran out of food about four days ago and I have been slowly getting hungrier and hungrier. Mom however seems to have food. I need to find it so I can eat as well as she is? Another storm came by earlier this morning. It picked up what was left of our house and threw it down the block. It did that with several houses. Less and less people are staying and are going into the city for refuge. Mom says they are stupid.

August 25th, 2453

I... Found out what was in the bag. (-Handwriting is shaky and uneven.)

Apparently, when Mom said the old man went out and shot some deer, she was lying. The Old Man was the one that was shot. He is missing an arm and a leg... I think mom has been feeding me his body. I have started to refuse to eat any meat and I think she's getting suspicious of me. She's been guarded in her actions and has been carrying that... axe. I've taken to carrying around my Daddy's knife. I've kept it sharp like he taught me to. I even practiced a bit with it! If Mom decides to hurt me... I will fight back.

September 14th, 2453

She did it... (The Handwriting is shakier than last time and blood drops and smears cover the page.)

She attacked me. It was after I confronted her.... (-A particularly large splatter of blood here.-)

She got me good... The axe is buried deep between my ribs. It hurts to move... Even to breath and everything feels all tingly... I can't see very well. I think am dying... And if I am, whoever finds this.. Please, remember me...

My name was Julia Anne Elderwood. I was in middle school. I was 11. (-The second 1 is scratched across the page until it ends.-)
Looking up from the journal and into the sky, the sirens in the distance from the military camp signaling another store, the sounds echoed eerily alongside them, warning any who knew, that another storm was coming. A quick look around proved uneventful besides the broken houses that laid about the neighborhood. The sturdier houses providing only a bit of shelter, their broken and collapsed roofs ruining them for any substantial shelter. The cellar at the edge of the clearing, the one the journal came from, was the best bet?
Rules:

1) No God Mode. Don?t take control of another person?s character, even if it is something minor. Collaboration posts are accepted and looked forward too, but they must be at least 400 words in length and have a list of all Characters, and who their played by, at the bottom of the post.
2) Each post must be a minimum of 150 words. This is an easy task, especially when others are posting this much as well. There is absolutely no reason for a post be under this.
3) Character Approval is required. During your registration for this RP, include a 200 word reply to the overview, not the actual RP. Most everyone will be accepted, but I want to make sure that your replies/posts are up to a standard.
4) Continuing from the rule above? Posts must be edited for grammar, spelling, and other such things. There is no reason to have spelling errors. There are plenty of spellchecker programs out there, and if your web browser doesn?t have one already installed on it, there are plugins for it. Use them.
5) This Roleplay WILL contain mature content at some point in time. If you are not old enough or mature enough, to read, or take part in this roleplay, do neither. If you start then end up deciding the situations are a bit too adult for you and leave, you?ll be creating a hole in the RP if we pull you in fully. Read through the whole RP before you post to decide.
6) When you start in the roleplay, you can only have a maximum of five items from a list below in the overview. Be aware that these items can dictate your posts for a while as they are what you will have on you when you first get into the roleplay. Your first post must contain a list of the five items you chose at the bottom.
Location: Large City placed between a desert and a mountain range with dense forest around it. The desert is about 40 miles to the west of the city, and the mountain range, about 40 miles east. A river starts in the mountain, runs through the city, and then out into the desert where it stops somewhere. Several smaller cities are in the desert and the forest, respectively, but they are rather small and contain no characters. All Characters must start out within the city, either on the out skirts, or in more inland. Main City Name: Ashwood City.

Time/Date: The Roleplay takes place in the future, but their technology isn?t that different. Day at the start of the RP is January 10th, 2454.
Technology: The Technology, despite being in the future, is the same as it is now. No big advancements in anything really. I just needed a different year for the RP in truth. However, most things where wiped out in the storms. With the storms and fallout, electromagnetic pulses and such ruined wires and most things. Working batteries, cellphones, computers, and electronics in general, including cars, are uncommon and when they are found, they are sought after. They are not rare, but not common. Working cellphones are only used to look at the time and day, or play some old games now though. All cell service has ceased due to all the wires being down. Since the electrical wires are down as well, no electricity flows to the houses. Chargers are made from what can be found, and a working hand, or modified bicycle with a charger hooked to its wheels is very valuable and can be used as a heavy bargaining chip.
The Groups: There are people in the city that are now parts of certain groups. There are several groups, and smaller ones are always popping up. The civilians in each part of the city under the rule of the certain group tend to give discounts, or be more willing to talk to or trade with those showing they follow the groups cause. The civilians are neutral however, and prefer not to use their powers. The two other Major groups are the Templar and Magi. The Templar are identified by the cross on their forehead. They forgo their powers and search for a way to remove the powers all together. They brand Magi and keep them under tight watch. Magi are those who embrace the power and are trying to find a way to reduce, or remove, the detrimental effects of using the powers. Magi are more likely to turn into mutants than the Templar who don?t use their powers unless in a dire situation, and even then, the repressed powers tend to explode out of the Templar when used, allowing the Templar a massive boost of power at the cost of their life most of the time.

Powers: During the storms, more than one chemical and nuclear plant around the world was damaged, causing fallout. The chemicals in the air made it toxic, but not enough so to cause death, only mutation. Everyone, even newborns, are now aligned to an element. The element is weak, only enough to augment things a bit if it isn?t trained. The powers will get stronger the more one trains with their power. The more someone does that however, the more they are poisoned until eventually they are mutated or die. Mutation is common and widespread amongst survivors. It isn?t odd to find someone with an odd hair color or eye color, or even an extra limb.
Powers, Continued:
The Elements:
-Fire ? High Offensive, Low Defensive, High Augmentation
-Wind ? High Offensive, Medium Defensive, High Augmentation
-Earth ? Low Offensive, High Defensive, Medium Augmentation
-Water ? Medium Offensive/Defensive, Low Augmentation
-Lightning ? High Offensive, Low Defensive, High Augmentation
Mixtures:
-Ice (Wind and Water) ? Medium Offensive, Medium Defensive, Medium Augmentation
-Magma (Fire and Earth) ? High Offensive, Low Defensive, High Augmentation(Very Short Periods of time)
-Metal (Lightning and Earth) ? Medium Offensive, VERY High Defensive, Low Augmentation
-Steam (Fire, Wind, Water) ? Low Offensive, Low Defensive, Low Augmentation
-Dust/Sand (Earth and Wind) ? High Offensive, Medium Defensive, Medium Augmentation
-Nature (Earth and Water) ? Low Offensive, Medium Defensive, Low Augmentation
Powers, Continued 2:
Everyone has access to one, and in rare cases, two or three elements but no more. Everyone however, can bend Light and Darkness to their will as well. Controlling these two elements is very hard and can take years of practice to even move them a little bit. Everyone also has access to the Life and Death elements. Bending Life, is more like healing. However, instead of healing, the caster is only taking the wound onto him or herself. Bending Death is causing diseases and reanimating corpses. Giving someone a disease causes the user to also get said disease. Reanimation costs the user a bit of his or her life-force, up to a maximum of four reanimations. Reanimated corpses have no mind and follow only the orders of those who rose them. Bending Life and Death is even more stressful and harder to control then Light and Darkness. Life, Death, Light and Darkness are all elements that everyone can use, but come at high costs and not everyone can use them all. Each person can only use one. If one uses life, he or she, cannot use death. Same with Light and Darkness. The thing that decides what a person can use is their actions towards others.

Starting Items ( 10 maximum): Be aware that each ? is ONE item, even if it has more than one in the ?list.?

-Matches(5) + Striker
-Knife + Sheath w/ Belt Loop (Six inches long, a bit dull)
- One Change of clothes. (Shirt, Undergarments, Pants, socks, Belt)
- Axe + Shovel (Both are handheld and are foldable at about the middle of the handle. The Axe is dull.)
-Flint
-Broken Cellphone, Laptop, or iPod
-Backpack
-Medicine (One bottle of Tylenol(25 Pills), One Bottle of Stomach/Heartburn Medicine(25 Pills), One Bottle of Anti-Depressants (10 pills), Three Bottles of Antibiotics (Your choosing))
-First-Aid Kit (An extensive kit that contains enough to do several minor surgeries or one major surgery. Most of the pills that where contained in the kit have been used or ruined however. It also contains a very small special blanket used to keep heat in, or out, depending, and three pills to put into water to help purify it. Also contains a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide.)
-Canteen (No Water) and One Can of Food (Your Choosing)
-Five Cans of Food and a half of loaf of bread. (Your Choosing. Each can is family sized so it is pretty decent
-Gun w/ 3 Bullets.
-Two Notebooks (One being a Sketchbook, the other being a Three-Subject Spiral Ring) + Two Unsharpened Pencils + One Pen.
-Two Books + One Book, if you decide to take a bible. Try to leave religion out of this RP though.
-Electric Hand Charger
-Lantern w/ 1 hour of gas in it
-Two Pint Bottles of 100 proof whisky. One 1/4th full, the other ? full.
-Left Over Fireworks. (Three Roman Candles, 2 ?Bomb? Shells, 1 Pack of Black Cat poppers (25))
-Bicycle (Broken, but can easily be fixed, only needs a chain and the tire pumped up)
-One Spoon, Fork, and Butter Knife
-Toolkit (Missing most everything but contains a few wrenches, a few different types of screwdrivers, a wire cutter, and a small magnet.)
-Two Newspapers, with about seven pages each.
-Rope (15 Feet) OR Steel Wire (20 Feet, 15 Gage)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/2ElijW8HPW0/viewtopic.php

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Obama makes case for fairness; GOP calls it rehash

On the day of his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama walks from the Oval Office along the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

On the day of his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama walks from the Oval Office along the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Graphic shows number of words used in official and unofficial State of the Union addresses; will be updated following Obama???s 2012 speech

On the day of his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama walks from the Oval Office along the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Following the Republicans' weekly strategy session, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. McConnell took aim at President Obama who will be delivering his State of the Union address later. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Following the Democrats' weekly strategy session, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is promising the nation an economy that gives a shot to everyone and not just the rich, using Tuesday night's State of the Union address to draw an election-year battle line with Republicans over fairness and the free market. Driving everything about the speech: jobs, including his own.

Overshadowed for weeks by the fierce race of the Republicans seeking his job, for one night Obama had a grand stage to himself.

He planned to pitch his plans to a bitterly divided Congress and to a country underwhelmed by his handling of the economy. Targeting anxiety about a slumping middle class, Obama was calling for the rich to pay more in taxes. Every proposal was to be underlined by the idea that hard work and responsibility still count.

Tens of millions of people were expected to watch on television, turning an always-political speech into Obama's best chance yet to sell his vision for another four years.

For an incumbent on the attack about income inequality, the timing could not be better.

Ahead of Obama's 9 p.m. EST speech, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney released his tax returns under political pressure, revealing that he earned nearly $22 million in 2010 and paid an effective tax rate of about 14 percent. That's a lesser rate than many Americans pay because of how investment income is taxed in the United States.

Obama, though, has his own considerable messaging challenges three years into his term.

The economy is improving, but unemployment still stands at the high rate of 8.5 percent. More than 13 million people are out of work. Government debt stands at $15.2 trillion, a record, and up from $10.6 trillion when he took office. Most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

Obama's relations with Republicans in Congress are poor, casting huge doubt on any of his major ideas for the rest of this year. Republicans control the House and have the votes to stall matters in the Senate, although Obama has tried to take the offensive since a big jobs speech in September and a slew of executive actions ever since.

"It's hard not to feel a sense of disappointment even before tonight's speech is delivered," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. "The goal isn't to conquer the nation's problems. It's to conquer Republicans. The goal isn't to prevent gridlock, but to guarantee it."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has called the themes of Obama's speech a "pathetic" rehash of unhelpful policies.

The State of the Union remains one of the most closely watched moments in American politics. Despite the political atmosphere in Washington, the scene is expected to have at least one unifying touch. Outgoing Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt a year ago, is expected to attend with her colleagues. Her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, was attending as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama.

Obama's tone was under as much scrutiny as his proposals.

He was aiming to find all the right balances: offering outreach to Republicans while sharpening his competing vision, outlining re-election themes without overtly campaigning and pledging to work with Congress even as he presses a campaign to act without it.

The context was set not just by the re-election year, but by the awful past year of partisan breakdowns in Washington. The government neared both a shutdown and, even worse, a default on its obligations for the first time in history.

Less than 10 months before Election Day, the presidential race is shaping up as a contest between unmistakably different views of the economy and the role of government.

Obama is campaigning on the idea of helping people at least get a fair shot at a job, a house, a career and a better life. Republicans say he and his philosophy have become a crushing burden on free enterprise and that the president is resorting to what amounts to class warfare to get elected again.

Obama's speech was to feature manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. He was to unveil new proposals to address the housing crisis that has left many people trapped, and he planned to promote steps to make college education more affordable.

The president was planning a traditional rundown on the state of American security and foreign policy ? and a reminder that he kept a promise to end the Iraq war.

But his driving focus was to secure faith in the economic recovery and in voters' confidence that he is getting the country on the right path.

Obama planned to renew his call for his "Buffet Rule" ? a principle that millionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than typical workers. While middle-income filers fall in the 15 or 25 percent bracket, and millionaires face a 35 percent tax bracket, those who get their income from investments ? not a paycheck ? pay 15 percent.

The president named his idea after billionaire Warren Buffet, who says it is unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. The White House invited Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, to attend the State of the Union as a special guest.

Obama was to outline a tax system "where everybody is paying their fair share," said senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

And then for three days following his speech, Obama will promote his ideas in five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he'll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he'll discuss energy, and in Michigan on Friday he'll talk about college affordability, education and training.

Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

The speech Tuesday night comes just one week before the Florida Republican primary that could help set the trajectory for the rest of the race.

Romney, caught up in a tight contest with a resurgent Newt Gingrich, commented in advance to Obama's speech.

"Tonight will mark another chapter in the misguided policies of the last three years ? and the failed leadership of one man," Romney said from Florida.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-24-State%20of%20the%20Union/id-86af2111a71a4cd39c76e0d05cffed6a

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Change How Long Your Phone Rings Before Sending Calls to Voicemail [Cellphones]

Change How Long Your Phone Rings Before Sending Calls to VoicemailIf your phone is sending calls to voicemail before you can get to it, you can actually adjust how long it rings before going to voicemail. Here's how to do it.

It's a bit different for everyone, depending on your carrier. Sprint, it seems, does not offer this option, but the other major US carriers do. Here's how to change your ring delay for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

AT&T and T-Mobile

Change How Long Your Phone Rings Before Sending Calls to VoicemailAT&T and T-Mobile both use the same method, which lets you change the number of rings right from your phone. To do it:

  1. Dial *#61# from your phone. Tap Send.
  2. You should see a new screen that displays a bunch of information about what's getting forwarded. You should see a line under "Voice Call Forwarding" that says "Forwards to +11234567890" (where 11234567890 is an eleven digit phone number, likely different from your phone number). Write down this number and tap Dismiss.
  3. Now, dial **61*+11234567890*11*XX# and hit Send, where 11234567890 is the number that you found in step two and XX is the number of seconds you want to wait until voicemail picks up. You can set it in increments of 5, where 30 seconds is the maximum.

After you hang up that call, you can have someone call your phone and see if it worked. On some phones, you can dial *#61# again and see how long it's delaying your calls, but our test phone (the iPhone) did not show this information.

Alternatively, you should be able to call AT&T or T-Mobile customer service and have them change it from their end, if you're uncomfortable doing it yourself.

Verizon

Verizon, unfortunately, does not offer this menu like AT&T and T-Mobile do. To change your ring delay on Verizon, you'll need to call customer service on your phone (by dialing *611) and asking them to help you out. The other caveat with Verizon, from what we could find in our research, is that your mileage could vary depending on where you are in the country. Sometimes, you'll be able to extend your delay all the way to 40 seconds, where other areas may have a smaller maximum, or not allow you to change it at all. Of course, it's a quick call to make, especially with our step-by-step guide to getting good customer service, so it's well worth a shot.


If you're outside the US, our friends at Lifehacker Australia have already compiled instructions for Telstra, Optus, and Vodaphone, and you can usually just Google the process for your carrier if you're with someone else. Furthermore, with any carrier, you can also just call customer service and get them to help you change it on their end, if you prefer. If you've done this before, let us know how it worked for you in the comments.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/N9AWyspirEM/change-how-long-your-phone-rings-before-sending-calls-to-voicemail

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Home prices likely to keep falling in 2012

By Martin Wolk

The housing market ended the year on a positive note with strong sales in December, but a glut of unsold homes will likely push prices lower through much of this year, forecasters said Friday.

Sales of existing homes hit an 11-month high last month and the number of properties on the market fell to the lowest level in nearly seven years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Unseasonably warm weather may have helped boost sales, but analysts said a strengthening job market and record low mortgage rates should buoy housing in coming months. Still, they were troubled by the high level of "distressed homes" for sale, including short sales of underwater properties or sales of foreclosed properties. Nearly one-third of existing-home sales were distressed last month, according to the Realtors.

In addition, one-third of Realtors said home sales fell through last month because of declined mortgage applications or appraisals that fell short of the required values.

"These strong negative undercurrents in the housing market and absence of support from strong labor market conditions will continue to trim home sales in the near term," said Asha Bangalore, economist at Northern Trust Co.

The median sale price for an existing home in December was $162,500, down 2.5 percent from December 2010. For the full year, the median price for existing homes fell nearly 4 percent.

"Home sales will gradually improve in 2012. ... However, prices will continue to decline in the near term, despite the better sales," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist of PNC. He pointed out that many home foreclosures are stuck in the pipeline due to paperwork issues and will pressure home prices in the year to come.

"The market for single-family homes picked up in the second half of 2011, after being stuck near the bottom for nearly three years," said economist Patrick Newport of IHS Global Insight. "This pickup is real, but the road to recovery will be a slow one."

While the home sales pace was a touch below economists' expectations, December marked the third straight month of gains, adding to hopes that a tentative recovery was taking shape.

But a glut of unsold properties that is weighing down on prices and stringent lending practices by banks is likely to make progress painfully slow.

There were 2.38 million unsold homes on the market last month, the fewest since March 2005. That represented a 6.2 months' supply at December's sales pace, the lowest since April 2006 and down from a 7.2 months' supply in November.

The Realtors group noted, however, that the inventory of unsold homes tends to decline in winter.

Data earlier this week showed single-family home starts rose for a third straight month in December and optimism among builders this month was the highest in four-and-a-half years.

"It is very encouraging that the current phase of the recovery is being driven by economic fundamentals as opposed to being fostered by temporary stimulus," said Millan Mulraine, a senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.

Reuters contributed to this report.

What are home prices doing in your area?

Existing home sales increased 5 percent last month, the highest pace in nearly a year. So, which investments may be the best bets as housing shows signs of life? CNBC's Diana Olick has the details.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10201735-housing-ends-year-on-strong-note-but-prices-still-falling

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Sri Lanka donates eyes to the world (AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ? At 10:25 a.m., a dark brown eye was removed from a man whose lids had closed for the last time. Five hours later, the orb was staring up at the ceiling from a stainless steel tray in an operating room with two blind patients ? both waiting to give it a second life.

S.P.D. Siriwardana, 63, remained still under a white sheet as the surgeon delicately replaced the cornea that had gone bad in his right eye following a cataract surgery. Across the room, patient A.K. Premathilake, 32, waited for the sclera, the white of the eye, to provide precious stem cells and restore some vision after acid scalded his sight away on the job.

"The eye from this dead person was transplanted to my son," said A.K. Admon Singho, who guided Premathilake through the hall after the surgery. "He's dead, but he's still alive. His eye can still see the world."

This gift of sight is so common here, it's become an unwritten symbol of pride and culture for Sri Lanka, an island of about 20 million people located off the southern coast of India. Despite recently emerging from a quarter century of civil war, the country is among the world's largest cornea providers.

It donates about 3,000 corneas a year and has provided tissue to 57 countries over nearly a half century, with Pakistan receiving the biggest share, according to the nonprofit Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society. The organization began promoting eye donation decades ago, but has since faced allegations of mismanagement and poor quality standards.

The supply of corneas is so great in Sri Lanka that a new, state-of-the-art government eye bank opened last year, funded by Singapore donors. It has started collecting tissue from patients at one of the country's largest hospitals, hoping to add an additional 2,000 corneas to those already shipped abroad annually. Nearly 900,000 people have also signed up to give their eyes in death through the Eye Donation Society's longstanding eye bank.

"People ask me, 'Can we donate our eyes while we are living? Because we have two eyes, can we donate one?'" said Dr. Sisira Liyanage, director of Sri Lanka's National Eye Hospital in the capital, Colombo, where the new eye bank is based. "They are giving just because of the willingness to help others. They are not accepting anything."

The desire to help transcends social and economic barriers. Prime ministers pass on their corneas here along with the poorest tea farmers. Many Sri Lankans, about 67 percent of whom are Buddhist, believe that surrendering their eyes at death completes an act of "dana," or giving, which helps them be reincarnated into a better life.

It's a concept that was first promoted a half century ago by the late Dr. Hudson Silva, who was frustrated by the massive shortage of corneas in his native Sri Lanka. Most eyes back then were harvested from the handful of prisoners hanged each year, leaving little hope for blind patients in need of transplants.

Silva wrote a newspaper piece in the late 1950s pledging to donate his own corneas and appealing to readers to also give "Life to a Dead Eye." The response was overwhelming.

With no lab facilities or high-tech equipment, he and wife Irangani de Silva began harvesting eyes and storing them in their home refrigerator. They started the Eye Donation Society, and in 1964, the first cornea sent abroad was hand-carried in an ice-packed tea thermos aboard a flight to Singapore. Since then, 60,000 corneas have been donated.

While the Society's eye bank was a pioneer, questions about quality emerged as international eye banking standards improved over the next 20 to 30 years. Concerns have recently been raised about less advanced screening for HIV and other diseases, and the eye bank has also faced allegations of mismanagement.

Many of its corneas are harvested from the homes of the dead in rural areas across the country, making auditing and quality assurance levels harder to maintain, said Dr. Donald Tan, medical director of Singapore National Eye Center, who helped set up the new eye bank. Once, he said, a blade of grass was found packaged with tissue requested for research.

Eye Donation Society manager Janath Matara Arachchi says the organization sends "only the good and healthy eyes" and has not received a complaint in 20 years. Arachchi said the organization checks for HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted diseases by dipping a strip into blood samples and waiting to see if it changes color for a positive result. Sri Lanka's Health Ministry also said it has received no complaints about the eye bank from other countries.

Medical director Dr. M.H.S. Cassim denied that anyone from the organization is making money off donations sent abroad. He said they charge up to $450 per cornea to cover operational costs and the high price of preservatives needed to store the tissue.

The cornea is the dome-shaped transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil. It helps to focus entering light, but can become cloudy from disease or other damage. Corneas must be carefully extracted from donors to avoid damaging the thin layer of cells on the back that pump water away to keep it clear. They must be harvested within eight hours of death, and can today be preserved and stored in refrigeration for up to 14 days.

Sri Lanka has no official organ donation registry, as is provided in some countries when driver's licenses are issued. Instead, the idea is passed down from generation to generation. Eye donation campaigns are organized at temples by Buddhist monks, but people of other faiths also give, including Hindus and Christians.

Future donors simply mail in the bottom half of a consent form distributed by Silva's Eye Donation Society. The top portion, which looks like an award certificate with a fancy scroll lacing around it, is also filled out and often proudly displayed on the wall ? serving as proof to the living that the pledge comes from a generous spirit.

"Just think if we had that level of organ donation and commitment and belief system in the United States, where we have these long lists of people waiting for hearts, livers and kidneys," said Dr. Alfred Sommer of Johns Hopkins University, who spent more than 40 years fighting blindness in the developing world. "If we had that level of cultural investment, there would be no lists for organ transplants."

The U.S. is the world's biggest cornea provider, sending more than 16,000 corneas to other countries in 2010, according to the Eye Bank Association of America. But Sri Lanka, which is 15 times smaller, actually donates about triple that number of corneas per capita each year.

There is no waiting list for eye tissue in Sri Lanka, and its people get first access to free corneas. About 40,000 have been transplanted locally since the beginning, but that still leaves a surplus each year.

Pakistan, an Islamic country where followers are typically required to be buried with all parts intact, has received some 20,000 corneas since overseas donations began, Cassim said. Egypt and Japan are two other major recipients, receiving 8,000 and 6,000 corneas respectively to date, he said.

But Sri Lanka cannot meet global demand on its own. An estimated 10 million people ? 9 out of 10 in poor countries ? suffer worldwide from corneal blindness that could be helped by a transplant if tissue and trained surgeons were available, according to U.S.-based SightLife, an eye bank that partners with developing countries. It has been working with Sri Lanka's new government facility.

"Sri Lanka has long been known to be a country with an incredible heart for eye donation and a willingness to share surplus corneas to restore sight around the world," said SightLife president Monty Montoya. "While efforts have been made to share information with other countries, I am not aware of any one location being able to replicate Sri Lanka's success."

Where possible, eye tissue should be transplanted within hours of death. That was done in the Colombo operating room where patients Siriwardana and Premathilake were stitched up with what looked like tiny fishing hooks, then bandaged and helped outside.

For Premathilake ? whose sight was lost when an open can of acid spilled onto his face while working at a rubber factory ? this is his last hope. His right eye still blinks, but there is nothing but an empty pink cavity inside. The stem cells attached to his left eye should help create a new window of sight that he hopes will allow him to go back to work, or at least carry out daily tasks without depending on his parents.

"I am extremely happy," he said. "I didn't know the man who died in his previous life, but I'm always going to say blessings for him during his next births."

____

Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_as/as_sri_lanka_eyes_to_the_world

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